Issa says Dems are 'obstructing' his inquiry into a DOJ investigation. |
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“Is it timely? Yes.” Issa said of the hearing and investigation. “Americans are at the risk of dying from those weapons today. And the prosecution of 20 people who bought these has nothing to do with this investigation.”

When asked if the timing could be altered, Issa deadpanned, “Iran-Contra could’ve been done at a later date. Watergate could’ve been done at a later date.”

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The dispute escalated on Wednesday as the Justice Department’s top liaison to Congress, Assistant Attorney General Ron Weich, testifies to the oversight panel.

Weich — a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — claimed that Issa’s subpoena of a witness expected to testify at the trial prompted a defendant in the case to back out of a meeting to discuss a potential plea bargain.

Issa took Weich to task over a letter Weich signed saying that ATF makes every effort to prevent illegally purchased guns from flowing into Mexico. In light of emails about the gun programs from ATF higher ups, “Isn’t that statement false now, with what you know?” Issa demanded.

“One defendant… specifically advised the prosecutors through his lawyer that he was declining the opportunity because he feared that any investigative report written about his proffer session would be made public,” Weich’s prepared testimony from Wednesday reads.

Weich replied that “there have been allegations that call into serious question that particular sentence” and that “everything we say is true to the best of our knowledge at the time that we say it.”

Cummings was also frustrated with Weich’s responses. “We may be dead next week, so I’m just [going to] be frank with you. I don’t want to waste time, life is short,” Cummings, whose college-age nephew was killed in a random shooting this week, said.

Weich said he would be happy to work with the Senate oversight committee to increase communication between the DOJ, including the possibility of showing all documents without redaction to oversight committee staff under supervision.

“We are not adversarial to you in this,” Weich said.

Administration officials say they’ve given Issa hundreds of pages of documents, are allowing staff to look at more sensitive records at the Justice Department, and are searching through what may be a million pages of documents responsive to the House’s requests. However, Justice Department officials also say they’re withholding some sensitive details about the investigation.

Issa also subpoenaed documents from the administration that the committee already has received from whistleblowers — an attempt to test the cooperation of the administration and integrity of what the committee has obtained, committee insiders say.

Democrats are furious about how Issa has handled the investigation.

“I have very serious concerns about the manner in which the committee is proceeding,” Cummings wrote in a letter Monday. “No Member of this Committee wants to risk compromising criminal prosecutions involving alleged murderers and gun traffickers for international drug cartels.”

Cummings showed more interest in the proceedings at Wednesday’s hearing, actively questioning Weich and pushing for further DOJ cooperation.

Justice Department officials have conceded privately that something went wrong with the gun tracking in Operation Fast and Furious. The agency’s inspector general is examining the episode at the request of Attorney General Eric Holder.

The probe will look at “the guidelines, internal controls … and investigative outcomes” in gun trafficking cases, said Jay Lerner, a spokesman for the internal watchdog.

THE SCUMS IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WANT TO PROVE ASSAULT WEAPONS FROM AMERIKA GO TO MEXICO SO THE SCUMS ESTABLISH A POLICY TO SELL ASSAULT WEAPONS TO THE MEXICAN CARTELS TO PROVE AMERIKANS GUNS GO TO MEXICAN CARTELS SO THE LIBERALS IN DIMOKRAT NUTHOUSE CAN BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.

What the ATF did was criminal and resulted in the death of a Border Guard. The AG was responsible and he knows it. But he was also responsible for the Clinton debacle pardon of Mark Rich and those terrorists and he was never punished. Eric Holder thinks that he is above the law. Put him in prison.

Was this done to prove that all assault weapons need to be made illegal in the US or is this administration just chock full of bumbling fools? Probably a little of both.

Judicial Watch has a dosier on what is happening at Holders department.

The DOJ pressured the city of Dayton to lower testing standards for black police cadets.

The DOJ lied about immigration courts to hide corruption.

A DOJ policy that directs large sums of cash settlements from DOJ Civil Rights Division discrimination lawsuits to organizations that are not officially connected to these lawsuits.

Whistleblower J. Christian Adams says the DOJ has a mandate not to enforce the law....the New Black Panther voter intimidation case.

Holders problems prosecuting terrorist cases because top department attorneys have conflicts of interest.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high ranking members of his administration charges dropped in the PAY to PLAY.

A video, showing a one time SEIU official, Stephen Lerner, outlining a plan to collapse the American economy including crashing the stock market so that unions can become more powerful.

The DOJ demanded emails from Yahoo without any effort to demonstrate probable cause to believe the email user was involved in the commission of any crime, but instead merely based on the vague claim that there is "reasonable grounds to believe" the emails "are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Voter registration fraud by ACORN as well as the Obama administration’s decision to shut down a criminal investigation.

And Holder omitted and kept quiet about 7 briefs about who he represented in GITMO.

The question of the day is who knew about this stupid "investigation" while it was on going? Follow up question, who actually was in charge of this deeply flawed program? Another follow up, was it a political move to discredit gun dealers? Bear in mind that while the BATF was all but forcing gun dealers to sell to the cartels the Obama administration was making noise about the number of US guns being found in Mexico with an eye towards legislating (even more) those gun sales.

CBS News has done stellar reporting on this story. One particularly interesting segment was this.

Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico

Federal agent John Dodson says what he was asked to do was beyond belief.

He was intentionally letting guns go to Mexico?

"Yes ma'am," Dodson told CBS News. "The agency was."

An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms senior agent assigned to the Phoenix office in 2010, Dodson's job is to stop gun trafficking across the border. Instead, he says he was ordered to sit by and watch it happen...

...Agent Dodson and other sources say the gun walking strategy was approved all the way up to the Justice Department...

This was pure cynical corrupt politics which disregarded the health and well being of thousands of people, including the murder of a U.S, Agent in Mexico, The bone of contention between Issa and the WH, is whether of not the Administration can pull off a cover-up of some very dirty governance.

Nic, please show us the proof that Issa is an ex-con. I don't believe you are being honest. Your comment implies Issa was convicted of a felony and served time in prison. I'm sick and tired of Obama hacks lying. Please, show verifiable information about Issa being an ex-con or shut up. Prove the felony and prove the prison time or be silent. Posting lies serves no purpose.....unless you are hoping the MSM will pick up you lie and broadcast it as if true. Hmmm??